Three former comrades from a wartime propaganda troupe join to form a senoir choir, and are soon joined by their other comrades, who find that it is an uplifting experience in their old age.
At the tail end of the Cultural Revolution, Qiu Shi, a poet who has been in prison for six years, is transferred elsewhere by boat under the guard of two officers. During transit, he meets a series of passengers, who have also faced hardships in recent times.
The events that take place on a city bus taken daily by workers, students, intellectuals, housewives and schoolchildren are depicted, and the lives of the two conductors, a hard-working young woman and an impatient and lazy man are contrasted.
